Chen Ge, the Crown Prince who grew up as a beggar among the common folk, was brutally beaten by Yu Wang's henchmen while begging—only to be rescued by imperial shadow guards and brought back to the palace to assume the throne as heir apparent. But Yu Wang fiercely opposes him. To settle the dispute, they strike a high-stakes wager: whoever quells the raging refugee uprising will win the hand of Wen Yi-Ning—the formidable daughter of General Wen, commander of the empire’s most powerful army—and secure the succession as the next Crown Prince. The entire court? Packed with Yu Wang’s loyalists.
